Bob Hanna: Martinez not holding back against Chavez Jr.

For someone who has never been known for trash talking, Ring magazine and consensus true middleweight champion Sergio Martinez has not been shy about what he intends to do to WBC middleweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. when they finally meet Sept. 15.

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By BOB HANNA

southcoasttoday.com

By BOB HANNA

Posted Aug. 1, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By BOB HANNA
Posted Aug. 1, 2012 at 12:01 AM

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For someone who has never been known for trash talking, Ring magazine and consensus true middleweight champion Sergio Martinez has not been shy about what he intends to do to WBC middleweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. when they finally meet Sept. 15.

The gentleman in him, however, obligated an explanation for his uncharacteristic verbal abuse (e.g. "He'll be so beat up they'll need DNA to identify him").

"Some ask me why I antagonize Chavez Jr.," he said, "but I'm not being aggressive. I'm just telling the truth. I think it's unjust for (the WBC) to lie to me and for Chavez to remain the champion even after having to fight me (per order of the WBC) a while ago, and for things to be the way they are just to protect this boxer.

"(Team Chavez) gave their word that they would fight me (earlier this year). That gets me angry, but that's all it is, and that's why I say what I say."

To recap, Martinez won the WBC and WBO middleweight title belts from Kelly Pavlik in April, 2010, while still wearing the WBO junior middleweight belt (he was stripped of the WBO middleweight belt for failure to notify the WBO which belt he was going to keep, but that's another story).

Martinez had only made one middleweight title defense (a sensational second round KO over Paul Williams) when the WBC stripped him of the title for not defending it against its mandatory challenger Sebastian Zbik, whom the ratings-conscious HBO network rejected as an opponent because Zbik was a relative unknown fighter in this country.

By vacating the title, the WBC thus paved the way for the popular and well-connected Chavez to fight Zbik and win the crown.

Subsequent promises by both Chavez and the WBC for a Chavez-Martinez fight proved worthless as Chavez proceeded to defend against the likes of Peter Manfredo Jr., Marco Antonio Rubio and Andy Lee before finally — under public pressure — agreeing to fight Martinez.

Maybe the Chavez camp was just stalling to give Chavez time to mature as he has indeed improved in those three title defenses, thanks to the addition of trainer Freddie Roach.

"He used to be a static fighter who would only come forward with a few speeds," noted Martinez on Chavez. "Now he knows how to keep his distance in the ring and attempts to use his intelligence. That is important for him because he used to take a lot of punishment before and now he gets hit less.

"Without that evolution as a fighter, he would not have been competitive against me. At least now, he can enter the ring against me. It doesn't guarantee his victory, but it does mean that he can give a good account of himself.

"A little over a year ago," concluded Martinez, "they (Team Chavez) were hiding in the henhouse. Now he's improving and it's time for the chicken to come out."

Both Martinez and Chavez Jr. are predicting a knockout. The fight will be show on HBO-PPV.

Going head to head with the Martinez-Chavez fight on the same night will be a Showtime fight card, featuring Saul "Canelo" Alvarez defending his WBC junior middleweight title against Josesito Lopez.

Lopez, in case you forgot, is the guy who broke former champion Victor Ortiz' jaw on his way to a ninth-round TKO.

On the local front, Kevin Cobbs of New Bedford (5-0) kept his cool and his unbeaten status with a unanimous decision over Donte Wiggins (1-1) in a grudge fight last week at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I.

The two fighters had been exchanging taunts over the past several months, but Cobbs fought a disciplined fight, staying outside and keeping his jab in Wiggins' face. He then put an exclamation point on his victory by decking Wiggins with a right hand to the temple in the closing seconds of the fight.

In the co-main events, Vladine Biosse of Providence (14-1-1) dominated late sub Michael Walchuk (9-6) in registering a fifth-round TKO, while Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey of Providence (21-3-0), fighting in front of his hometown fans for the first time in five years, also won by a fifth-round TKO over Jesse Oltmanns of Philadelphia (10-4).

It was also Godfrey's debut as a heavyweight, coming in at 220. He lost a world title shot against WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck last year.

Further south, New Bedford native Paul "The Truth" Delgado, who moved to Atlanta more than a decade ago, lost a bid for the WBF intercontinental super welterweight title in what may have been his last fight.

The 36-year-old Delgado (26-12-1) was stopped by a younger, stronger Mike Ruiz (17-8) of New York in the 10th round after his fifth trip to the canvas at the Buckhead Theater in Atlanta.

It was an even, back-and-forth fight for the first six rounds before the harder-hitting Ruiz took charge by flooring Delgado with a right hand in the eighth.

Delgado went down three more times in the ninth and once in the 10th before the referee waved a halt.

"This may be it," Delgado told FightNews.com. "I might go ahead and hang them up and start working on some other goals I've set for myself."

Delgado owns his own gym in Atlanta and has already started a new career as a promoter.

They may have been undermatched, but they were certainly not overrated.

I refer to the July 21 HBO card featuring former WBO super featherweight champion Adrien "The Problem" Broner (24-0, 20 KOs) and unbeaten welterweight Keith Thurman (18-0, 17 KOs). Broner, who lost the super featherweight title on the scales the previous day, put on an awesome display of speed and power in scoring a fifth-round TKO over Vicente Escobedo (26-4, 15 KOs).

Broner, who will now campaign as a lightweight, is cocky, but has so far backed up every word with his fists. Has he ever!

Equally impressive (and cocky) was Thurman with a sixth-round TKO over tough Orlando Lora (29-3-2, 19), who took the fight on two weeks notice.

After absorbing a barrage of clean hard shots through the first five rounds that would stopped most fighters, Lora was dropped by a left hook and a chopping right hand in the sixth.

Lora got up, but had had enough at that point, walking to his corner and taking out his mouthpiece while the referee was still counting.

Remember the name, Keith Thurman.

Bob Hanna covers boxing for The Standard-Times. Contact him at sports@s-t.com